Tasers a jolt for Cape law enforcement

Tasers are becoming more and more widespread among Cape police departments, with 11 out of 15 having access to the them.

JASON COOK

Mashpee police Officer Meredith Allen-Our responded to the call last month: A man was acting violently and possibly on drugs.

When she arrived, his fists were clenched, he was not listening to her commands, and he was physically threatening.

She could have used her police baton, but instead she reached for the newest weapon available to Mashpee police: a Taser.

Allen-Our pointed the weapon at the man's stomach, and he saw the red targeting dot. When the man raised his arms and screamed, she pulled the trigger, shooting two barbs charged with 50,000 volts of electricity into his abdomen and forcing him to the ground.

"I think an injury was avoided to a suspect and an officer," said Mashpee Police Chief Rodney Collins of the incident.

Tasers are becoming more and more widespread among Cape police departments, with 11 out of 15 having access to the them.

While research on the health risks of Tasers is still ongoing and incidents of abuse are still being reported, Tasers are widely accepted as a staple in a police officer's arsenal.

The weapon can shoot two small electric current-carrying barbs that can travel up to 21 feet, stick in a person's skin or clothing and stun them. A Taser also can be pressed directly onto a target.

With 50,000 volts, Tasers are effective at what they do — using electricity to seize muscles and incapacitate victims.

"You're telling your brain to move," Yarmouth police Lt. Kevin Lennon said about the lack of muscle control while being shot with a Taser, "but you can't."

Every officer in Yarmouth is issued a Taser, he said, which amounts to 63 in all. While officers are not required to be zapped with a Taser before being issued the weapon, Lennon recommends it and has been stunned with a Taser himself.

"It was the worst five seconds of my life," he said.

Barnstable officers issued Tasers are required to be shot with the stun gun, said Barnstable police Sgt. Michael Damery.

"Those five seconds," he said of the standard duration of a discharge, "feel like five hours. I would not recommend it recreationally."

He said about 15 incumbent Barnstable officers turned down being issued a Taser when they were a new item, with about 90 of the 128 officers now carrying one.

As for the cost of Tasers, which are about $1,000 each, Damery said the department has funded nearly all the cost internally, using money from property seizures. "They have not cost the taxpayers anything, I don't think," he said.

Officers are trained to aim at "large muscle areas," such as the back or thigh and to never aim above the shoulders, Lennon said.

In the roughly five years since they've been issued to the department, Damery said, Barnstable police have used Tasers on people about 200 times. But their effect goes beyond the number of times used.

"Sometimes just seeing it is enough," he said of the intimidating effect the electrical weapon can have.

"I think it's a deterrent," Collins said.

Mashpee police have had Tasers since January 2011, but the incident with Allen-Our in December was the first time they've had to use them on a human. They had previously shot a pit bull once with a Taser.

Tasers are not used in lethal force situations, according to Lennon, but are used when a suspect presents a threat or is physically aggressive. He said any time an officer is justified in using a police baton, they are justified using a Taser.

But if a criminal is armed with a firearm, knife or other deadly weapon, police are justified in using lethal force.

Police carry Tasers with them at all times, but if they know they are going into a situation where guns may be present — such as a drug bust — they are not the first option, Lennon said.

"We don't bring a Taser to a gunfight," he said. "We don't bring a Taser to a knife fight."

Though giving police officers more options is a good thing, Tasers still have critics who say they are used in inappropriate situations.

Jared Feuer of Amnesty International said the group is concerned with where Tasers are on the force continuum, the guidelines for law enforcement that dictate when it's appropriate to use certain weapons.

At the top of the force continuum is a lethal weapon, usually a firearm. The second tier includes Tasers, police batons and tools such as pepper spray. The next option is physical force, preceded by verbal commands.

He said if police are to use Tasers, they should only be as alternatives to lethal force.

"The problem is they're not," he said. "The force should be proportional to the threat."

The trouble is, as Feuer sees it, police are using Tasers in situations "when it's not appropriate," mainly in place of verbal negotiations.

More Tasers could be coming to Cape Cod, as a number of departments that do not have them are looking into purchasing them.

Harwich and Orleans are two Cape departments examining more widespread Taser use.

The Orleans Police Department does not use Tasers, said Police Chief Scott MacDonald, but that may change very soon.

"We're taking a hard look at it," he said.

Waiting for more studies on the health risks of Tasers was paramount for MacDonald, and he believes they are "at a point where it is nationally accepted."

Orleans will decide in the next few months whether to acquire Tasers, MacDonald said.

"There's always a risk with any device," he said, but he pointed to studies that indicate there is less use of deadly force, officer injuries and litigation in places where Tasers are used.

"Tasers are publicly studied more than any other device," he said.

"We currently have 12 Tasers," said Harwich police officer Aram Goshgarian. Tasers are signed out at the start of each shift and signed in at the end, he said.

If Orleans moves forward with Tasers, MacDonald said it will be a gradual process. "We'll get a few units, deploy them on patrol shifts and go from there."

Amnesty International has been tracking Taser-related deaths "for years," according to Feuer, deputy director of membership for the Atlanta-based human rights group.

"Unfortunately they keep ticking up," he said of deaths.

An Amnesty International study published in February 2012 claims at least 500 people in the United States have died after being shocked with Tasers since 2001. A number of those were people who were shocked multiple times or for extended periods of time, according to the report.

Damery countered concerns about abusing these weapons by explaining how information on their use is stored.

Every time the weapon is discharged, the duration, number of trigger pulls and other relevant information is stored electronically on the device, Lennon said. That information is uploaded regularly and submitted to the state, he said, and is encoded to prevent any sort of tampering.

Additionally, when fired, the cartridge that contains the barbs releases a confetti-like material that is unique to each Taser, Lennon said, and can be tracked to the weapon.

"The Taser is the single most accountable tool police have," Damery said.

While Amnesty believes Taser use needs to be re-evaluated, police are simply happy to have "another tool in their toolbelt," Lennon said.

"Like a firearm, a radio, (Tasers) are the same way — it's a lifesaving tool."

Whether it's pepper spray, a police baton, a firearm or a Taser, sometimes police have to use force.